France vs Germany highlights, FRA 0-2 GER, International friendly: Havertz, Wirtz goals guide Die Mannschaft to a morale-boosting win

A morale-boosting win for Germany as it beats France 2-0 in the international friendly. Florian Wirtz and Kai Havertz with the goals. 

It is France’s second defeat after the World Cup final loss against Argentina. 

Giroud and Mbappe try to combine but the former’s pass to is captain is underhit and the Germans regain possession. It sums up France’s story of the night really. 

Giroud gets at the end of a cross from the left flank and goes for an acrobatic finish and alnost hits the target, as the ball whiskers past the post. Ter Stegen was a mere spectator, as he saw the ball go out of play. He will be relieved to keep his clean sheet. 

Four minutes added at the end of the second-half!

Germany sub: IN- Anton Kroos

There is a potential penalty check as the ball had hit the arms of Mittelstadt as he went for the cleanrance. VAR has a look but the replay shows that he has kicked the ball into his own hand, making it an inadvertent touch. No penalty for France. 

Mbappe’s cross is difficult for Mittelstadt to deal with. He almost scores an own goal in a bid to clear the ball but is saved from the blushes by Rudiger who manages to clear the ball, hitting the crossbar in the process. 

The camera pans to Didier Deshchamps, who looks dejected to say the least. In his 150th game in charge of the French national team, it has not been a memorable evening for him. 

Mbappe goes for a cross from the left but he cannot keep the ball in play. Apart from that first-half chance, it has been a poor outing for the France captain.

France sub: IN- Kolo Muani OUT- Dembele 

Muller and Undav, both put Samba under pressure late in the match. First, Muller opens up the face of his boot and tries to place the ball inside the net. It is a good shot and Samba is forced to make a save. Germany cannot clear the ball and this time, Undav shoots hard and low from the edge of the box, forcing Samba to make another diving-save. 

Germany subs: IN - Undav, Fullkrug OUT- Havertz, Musiala

Maximilian Mittelstadt almost scores on his debut after going for a first-time shot from the left side of the box.. He catches the shot well and forces a fingertip save from Samba. 

Mbappe had all the time and space to put the Germany backline under pressure with his cross but instead, he sends the ball straight to Ter Stegen, who will collect those kind of crosses all night long. 

It has been a poor performance from the French team in the second-half. Unlike the first -half, Les Blues have hardly created proper chances. Germany look the likelier team to score the next goal and kill the match. 

Andrich goes for a shot from distance but it was always going to be a difficult one because there were so many bodies inside the box. 

France booking: Rabiot becomes the latest player to see a yellow card. 

Germany subs: IN- Muller, Fuhrich OUT- Gundogan, Wirtz

Germany booking: Robert Andrich becomes the first player to get booked as he sees a yellow card for dissent. 

France booking: Mbappe has also seen a yellow card for getting in a minor tussle with Andrich.

The referee blew his whistle after he fouled Mbappe but the German player argued with the referee, saying the contact was not enough for the player to go down. 

ICYMI: Julian Nagelsmann was also shown a yellow card earlier in the match for his antics on the touchline. 

Havertz shows good vision to find Gundogan between a sea of blue shirts at the edge of the France box. Gundogan gets to the ball but he is crowded out before he could take the shot and the Germany captain eventually loses the ball. 

Havertz spots the loose ball inside the France box and makes a run for it. But Rabiot gets to the ball before Havertz, sending it out of play with a sliding clearance. 

France subs: IN- Giroud, Camavinga, Theo Hernandez, Clauss OUT- Thuram, Zaire-Emery, Lucas Hernandez, Kounde

Kroos finds Musiala, as the latter makes a darting run towards the France goal. Samba comes off his line to narrow the angle but he is not troubled as Upamecano does well to put pressure on Musiala, not allowing his Bayern Munich teammate to take a shot. 

Mbappe has the pace and trickery to beat his marker Antonio Rudiger but his final ball is disappointing as his low cross inside the Germany box goes straight to Ter Stegen. 

Dembele makes a good run and cuts in at the edge of the box, trying to find the far-corner with a curling shot. It is not the worst of efforts but the bend on the ball was not enough to rattle the net. 

Dembele loses the ball to Wirtz, who squares the ball in the hope of finding a teammate. But Benjamin Pavard is there to anticipate the cross and clear the ball to safety. 

Like the first-half, France finds itself on the backfoot early in the second-half. Havertz’s goal has clearly put Germany in a good position to win this clash. We can expect some changes from Deshchamsps really soon. 

Wirtz shows his class to pick out Musiala with an excellent through ball over the top. Musiala shows immaculate control in bringing down the ball inside the France penalty-area. He has the composure to take the ball around Samba and square the ball to Havertz in the middle, who lashes the ball inside the net with the easiest of finishes. 

Germany makes a fast start in the second-half, just like the first. Havertz gets the ball after getting at the end of a cross from the left. He shoots at goal but pulls his effort a bit, as the ball rolls wide. 

Germany with a 1-0 lead against France as the second-half gets underway at the Groupama Stadium.

No added time at the end of the first-half. Florian Wirtz’s goal, seven seconds into the match, keeps Germany in a 1-0 lead against France at the break. 

We will be back after a short break. Stay tuned for live updates from the second-half.

Germany dominated the first 15 minutes or so, but France has come out all guns blazing and come close to equalising on a couple of occasions. It seems unlikely that the match would finish with a 1-0 scoreline. 

Germany builds a patient attack, putting France on the backfoot. Wirtz gets the ball at the edge of the box and rolls it to his right in space for Kimmich. The latter goes for a first-time shot but fails to keep his effort on target. 

France coming closer and closer to getting the equaliser. Kounde shoots at goal but it is blocked. The ball falls to Rabiot, who tries to guide the ball inside the net from close distance but fails to so amidst pressure. 

Joshua Kimmich tries to find Musiala with a through ball but the weight of the ball is too much for Musiala. Upamecano gets to the ball and shows his strength to shield the ball from Musiala till the ball goes out of play. 

It is Germany’s time to attack and Jamal Musiala leads it. Musiala gets in the box and goes for a shot from the right side of the box. ButMusiala’s Bayern Munich teammate Upamecano arrives in time to make the block for France. 

Dembele sends in an accurate cross inside the box from a freekick. Tchouameni gets at the end of the cross and tries to guide the ball towards the far-corner with a first-time effort. He does not catch the ball well enough. Gundogan does well to clear the ball to safety. 

Mbappe tries to conjure something in a tight space. He gets past his marker inside the box and sends in a floating cross towards the middle in the hope of finding a teammate. But the German backline is alert enough to anticipate the cross and clear the ball to safety. 

It seems France is finally finding its footing in the match. Mbappe puts on the afterburners and makes a run at goal. He makes his way inside the box from the left and Ter Stegen comes off his line to narrow down the angle. Mbappe goes for the cheeky route, trying to dink Ter Stegen but the German keeper reads it and gets a hand to it to make the save. 

Dembele puts the German backline under pressure again and does well to find Mbappe with a low cross from the right. Mbappe shows good control to bring down the ball and has a shot at goal. However, he cannot keep his effort on target. 

Dembele twists and turns past his marker and tries to find a teammate with a cutback but he cannot find a blue shirt as Germany clears the ball to safety. 

Thuram gets the ball after a deflection and tries to trouble Ter Stegen. But he cannot keep his shot down as the ball sails above the crossbar. 

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Six seconds - Austria’s Baumgartner scores fastest international goal

The goal came earlier than Lukas Podolski’s for Germany against Ecuador in 2013 when the forward pinched the ball from a defender and scored seven seconds into the match.

Depite having the stronger team on paper, that early goal seems to have given a lot of momentum to the Germans. At the moment, France cannot find any openings for a possible equaliser. 

Ousmane Dembele switches the play, passing the ball to Mbappe on the left. Mbappe tries to send club teammate Warren Zaire Emery on the run with a backheel but cannot pull it off. 

Kylian Mbappe looks to get himself involved for the first time in the match as he tries to cut in from the left but he cannot control the ball, eventually losing possession. 

Wirtz makes another run at goal and tries to find Kai Havertz inside the France box. But Wirtz’s pass is cut out and Les Blues get the ball to safety. Didier Deschamps’ team has been rocked with the fast start and the Germans are on a high at the moment. 

Germany has had the best possible start it could have hoped for. Toni Kroos finds Florian Wirtz after Germany kicked-off the match. Wirtz, who had time and space to shoot, picks out the top-left corner from outside the box and giving his team a lead within seven seconds.

The international friendly between France and Germany has kicked-off at the Groupama Stadium in Decines-Charpieu, near Lyon.

The teams are on the pitch and it is time for the national anthems. 

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Matches played: 12

France wins: 6

Draws: 3

Germany wins: 3 

France will clash against Germany in an international friendly at the Groupama Stadium in Decines-Charpieu, near Lyon on Sunday.

With Euro 2024 on the horizon, there will be keen eyes on host Germany, which faces a challenging prospect against Didier Deschamps’ France despite the match being a friendly contest. 

Germany, having gone through a crisis period involving the change of several managers, has Julian Nagelsmann at the helm right now. However, he has not enjoyed the best of starts, with his team having won just one of four friendlies where he has been in charge.

France, the 2018 world champion and 2022 runner-up, had an easy qualification route to Euro 2024 and will start as the heavy favourites against Germany. Deshcamps’ men lost 2-1 against Germany when both sides played last September. Unlike that match, France will have the services of captain and star player Kylian Mbappe.

Predicted XI

France predicted lineup: Maignan(GK); Pavard, Saliba, Upamecano, T. Hernandez; Rabiot, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Dembele, Giroud, Mbappe. 

Germany predicted lineup:: Ter Stegen(GK); Kimmich, Tah, Rudiger, Raum; Kroos, Andrich; Musiala, Wirtz; Fullkrug, Havertz.

When and where will the France vs Germany international friendly kick-off?

The France vs Germany international friendly will kick-off at 1:30 AM IST on Sunday, March 24 at the Groupama Stadium in Decines-Charpieu, near Lyon 

Where can you watch the France vs Germany international friendly in India?

The France vs Germany international friendly will be live telecasted on the Sony Sports Network in India. The match can also be live streamed on the Sony LIV app and website. 

Where can you watch the France vs Germany international friendly outside India?

United Kingdom: Viaplay Sports 1, Viaplay UK 

United States: ViX 

Canada: DAZN